Museums and Galleries Act 1992

4 Acquisition and disposal of pictures and other objects

(1) The National Gallery Board, the Tate Gallery Board or the National Portrait Gallery Board may, in particular, acquire (whether by purchase, exchange or gift) any relevant objects which, in the opinion of the Board concerned, it is desirable to add to their collection.

(2) In this section “relevant objects” means—

(a) in the case of the National Gallery Board, works of art,

(b) in the case of the Tate Gallery Board, works of art, and

(c) in the case of the National Portrait Gallery Board, portraits or other works of art relevant to portraiture,

and, in each case, includes any documents relating to a relevant object which falls, or has at any time fallen, within paragraph (a), (b) or (c) above, as the case may be, and which is, or at that time was, comprised in the Board’s collection.

(3) The National Gallery Board shall not dispose of a relevant object the property in which is vested in them and which is comprised in their collection unless the disposal is an exercise of the power conferred by section 6 below.

(4) The Tate Gallery Board shall not dispose of a relevant object the property in which is vested in them and which is comprised in their collections unless—

(a) the disposal is an exercise of the power conferred by section 6 below;

(b) the disposal is of a relevant object which, in the Board’s opinion, is unsuitable for retention in their collections and can be disposed of without detriment to the interests of students or other members of the public; or

(c) the disposal (by whatever means, including destruction) is of a relevant object which the Board are satisfied has become useless for the purposes of their collections by reason of damage, physical deterioration, or infestation by destructive organisms;

but this subsection is without prejudice to any trust or condition (express or implied) prohibiting or restricting disposal of the relevant object.

(5) The National Portrait Gallery Board shall not dispose of a relevant object the property in which is vested in them and which is comprised in their collection unless—

(a) the disposal is an exercise of the power conferred by section 6 below;

(b) the disposal is by way of sale, exchange or gift of a relevant object which is a duplicate of another relevant object the property in which is so vested and which is so comprised;

(c) the disposal (by whatever means) is of a portrait and the Board are satisfied that the identification formerly accepted by them of the person portrayed has been discredited; or

(d) the disposal (by whatever means, including destruction) is of a relevant object which the Board are satisfied has become useless for the purposes of their collection by reason of damage, physical deterioration or infestation by destructive organisms;

and a relevant object may be disposed of by the Board as mentioned in paragraph (d) above notwithstanding a trust or condition (express or implied) prohibiting or restricting the disposal of the relevant object.

(6) The Wallace Collection Board shall neither add any object to their collection nor dispose of any object the property in which is vested in them and which is comprised in their collection.

(7) Money accruing to a new Board by virtue of a disposal mentioned in this section shall be applied by the Board in the acquisition of relevant objects to be added to their collection.